INDIA. Arguably the greatest retail and food & beverage opportunity in Indian airport history will be offered to the market in coming weeks at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A raft of commercial tenders related to the airport’s new Terminal 3, due to open in March 2010, is currently being finalised by Chief Commercial Officer Gavin McKechnie and his team at the GMR-operated airport. This will be preceded by a number of tenders for the new domestic terminal, 1D.
 |
Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 today – a giant construction site… |
 |
… And how it will look in 2010 when it will open in time for the Commonwealth Games |
 |
Delhi’s bright new international gateway: Sleek lines and gleaming whiteness abound |
Speaking to The Moodie Report in Delhi this month*, former BAA and World Duty Free executive McKechnie said: “Our objective is to get all the [T3] RFPs out by the end of October and the majority of them closed by the end of December because we want people to be on site by around September next year [preparing for the opening].”
UK company The Design Solution is working with GMR on developing the commercial space at the Delhi gateway.
T3 will offer some 30,000sq ft of duty free retail space – “slightly bigger than Heathrow Terminal 3 and slightly smaller than Heathrow Terminal 5 – and in the right region for 34-40 million passengers,” McKechnie said.
 A Scotsman in Delhi |
| “I couldn’t have made a better choice”¦ here I really feel I can make a difference” -Gavin McKechnie |
| More on The Moodie Blog |
The duty free contract is likely to run for seven years (though the exact tenure is still being finalised) and will be offered to a single retailer in an open tender, he said.
A standard concession agreement is the most likely formula, though alternatives such as joint ventures and management contracts were explored.
Additionally a host of specialist stores, all involving separate contracts, will be offered. “I want as wide a range of people to come in and bid as possible,” said McKechnie.
“There will be a mixture of international and local brands.”
 |
“This will be the biggest opportunity in India over this period” – Chief Commercial Officer Gavin McKechnie |
He said that GMR expected major interest from most major international travel retailers as well as strong local interest in the specialist stores from quality Indian retailers.
“All the big players know what is happening and they have all made contact. Everyone wants to come into India and they are all awaiting the opportunities.
“This will be the biggest opportunity in India over this period.”
While noticing a slowdown in passenger growth linked to the oil crisis and related ticket price increases, McKechnie said tender interest would not be affected.
He added: “Even now, when we are nowhere near the passenger numbers we thought we would do, we’re still showing +8-9% [year-on-year monthly] growth”¦ even the fast-growing European airports such as Stansted and Edinburgh aren’t seeing anywhere near this growth.”
 |
The sign says it all: Terminal 3 will take the Delhi gateway into a new, contemporary era |
 |
Behold the future: Tradition and modernity will combine at the state-of-the-art terminal |
The T3 food & beverage tender will include, uniquely, a themed bar, conceived by The Design Solution. “That will be the signature piece,” said McKechnie enthusiastically. “It will be the bar of Asia – the place to be.”
 |
The Moodie Report Publisher Martin Moodie is briefed in Delhi on the exciting Terminal 3 development by Chief Development Officer Airport Development I Prabhakara Rao, who is overseeing the complex project |
Approximately 8,000sq ft of food & beverage space will be offered – mostly located on the mezzanine level at T3 with the retail offer below. “Food & beverage will be a mixture of continental, Asian and Indian,” said McKechnie.
“There will be casual dining, snacks, coffee and bars. We are trying to move away from the food court concept. The food court is the latest thing in India – I want it to be the last thing in Delhi.”
 |
An artist’s impression of the T3 interior |
New concepts will include CTN and convenience stores (both firsts for India), and a range of innovative F&B concepts.
Advertising and foreign exchange concessions will be among the other commercial opportunities.
“This is a huge opportunity for everyone,” he concluded.
In an interview with The Moodie Report to be published next month, GMR Development Officer Airport Development I Prabhakara Rao (pictured) promised a distinctly Indian feel at the airport, while incorporating all the elements of a modern, international gatway
TERMINAL 1D TAKES SHAPE
The commercial overhaul is not limited to the new T3. The existing T2 international terminal has just been revamped and upgraded.
Improvements include a relocation and extension of the duty free offer run by Alpha Future and the imminent addition of new food & beverage units run by international concessionaire SSP.
 |
 |  |
Construction is going on day and night to ensure that GMR meets the March 2010 deadline for the terminal opening | |
 |
Development Officer Airport Development I Prabhakara Rao promises a distinctly Indian feel at the airport, while incorporating all the elements of a modern, international gatway |
| Destination Delhi |
| Every time I visit India’s airports, I feel I am watching history being made |
| More on The Moodie BlogBlog |
At Terminal 1D, the new domestic terminal which is on schedule to open by the end of this year, two master concessions for food & beverage and three for retail will be tendered next week.
“There is a lot of interest,” said McKechnie. “There will be four or five casual dining units, two coffee outlets and a fine dining room.”
The offer will include a strong focus on Indian fast foods, which consumer research proves is in high demand. “We can’t turn this into another European airport; it has to be an Indian airport. The brief I have given is that passengers must know they are in Delhi when they are here,” he commented. “So there will be things that are unique to Delhi.”
Retail in Terminal 1D will include a range of Indian souvenirs and destination merchandise, as well accessories and clothing.
*NOTE: The full interviews with Gavin McKechnie and I Prabhakara Rao, plus a profile of the new T3, will be included in the next issue of The Moodie Report Digital Print Edition, out next month.
[comments]
Your post will appear – once approved – in The Moodie Forum on our home page
MORE STORIES ON DELHI INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
